Geek philosophy and hobby enthusiasm from the Swedish South

A change of attitude – how we embrace the new

This article will be featured on Spikey Bits in a few days. Thx Rob Baer!

Not even two weeks ago we received the poster boy SM codex, and now the anticipated DA codex hits the shelves. The Internet has already blessed us with its dark gifts of leaks and spoilers, and just as many of you fanatics out there, yours truly has already read and rejoiced. But is it all good?

The community outcry shows a reluctance towards this, and basically everything new that has been released since May 2014. I am pretty sure we all remember the rants on every possible forum when the first news of 7th came to us. Many were happy, just as many were not.

The vocal ‘minority’

There is an understanding amongst the optimists in our community that those who complain are a vocal minority. These are the ones who write the posts saying stuff like” omg lol, wtf GW, money grabbers and douches who just want our money, they have ruined my army, omg op spam incoming” and so on and so forth in absurdum. I am willing to bet against you dear fanatics to check any of your favorite forums for getting out your fuzzy feelings about our benevolent hobby, and you will find at least one complaining/upset post among the top 10 resent.

The silent ‘majority’

”Happy people have no stories” as the song by Therapy goes. I guess there is a truth in this. I haven’t ran any statistics on this, but here is a summary of what I see in the forums I discuss 40k; rants, inquiries, mini showcase and list reviews. That’s it. You don’t see anyone posting ”oh wow did you see the rule for these guys? So well written and right up my ally”. Some of us might feel this happiness, but none of us really share it. Is it out of fear for backlash, and even further, we do not want our happiness to be dispelled?

The word isCHANGE

We have gone from the time we had 2-3 codices maybe a year, to a time where we are blessed/cursed with a new codex every other week. And this change came quite suddenly. My theory is that we all hoped for this change, but none of us could predict our own reaction.

I am writing to you from my iPad at a hotel, been running around town like a headless chicken, preparing my wedding day together with my fiancé. We have arranged with a DJ, venue, the church and tomorrow I sit down with the photographer and the florist. I am the happiest I can be, because I am doing this with the love of my life.
But rest assured, I will not have a single moment to amaze over the upcoming Age of Sigmar release, with anyone the next 48 hours (I probably won’t have time to casually dive into my 40k group on Facebook to let of steam). And I would love to, but I won’t.
And this the ‘bitter’ truth ladies and gentlemen. Most of us work full time. Some are married with children. These are all time consuming obligations. They leave a very limited amount of time and also money for our hobby. And to some of us, actually most or even all of us at some point, this is a frustration. We don’t need another new mini, but we WANT it! We are geeks, this is our passion, naturally we want to be in the loop. But be weary of letting the hobby become a burden and stress. This should be a sanctuary, a place for relaxation and free roaming grounds for our inner child.

The conclusion-like ending

We can go back on forth on what was first, the chicken or the egg. The vocal minority is in fact the majority and vice versa. We can’t really determine what is what, because we all have been on both sides of the camp. No one is an overall optimist and embraces everything that comes their way.

I play together with both veterans and new schoolers, and there is no real stereotype to what side of the story any of these will put their money. Yes, veterans tend to be more conservative, but even they marvel at new minis, rules etc. Embrace, adapt and overcome I sometimes hear, and this is how I try to embrace our hobby.

I have been playing my friend for well over ten years. He plays CSM and I play SM. for some reason, the past 2-3 years or so, I haven’t won a single game against him. It has come to the point where I blame divine interference in our games, because I have beaten far superior tacticians than him. I have blamed the rules, claiming his list being op (I play SM, I should learn to shut up).

Despite losing all these games, I still love his army. I am always on the look out for new stuff for him to incorporate in his army, even though they further in making my life a living hell.

I also remember the Eldar hype #1 and #2. The community was a dark place back then. Yet, I never lost. And the eldar player I played was a good player. Necrons, same thing. Mind you I play a very fluffy crimson fist army, no bike or librarian spam. Yet, so far after 6 games against the new Necrons I am still 4W/2L.

To actually give you a conclusion to all of this, I would say it all boils down to attitude. Attitude towards rules, attitudes towards new releases etc. Keep a positive attitude and you will enjoy the entirety of the hobby a great deal more. Instead of going bonkers about GW releasing new stuff, because you think you have to buy it right away, remind yourself that even if you buy the kit today, you still have to put in x amount of time to cut it out and strip it. X amount of time to magnetize and convert, x amount of time to paint. You see what I am getting at? No? The only one holding a gun to your head to buy into everything new, is yourself. Take your time, make a budget, savor the moment of completing a new kit. Your hobby isn’t going anywhere. The kits will be in the shop in a month, two or even a whole year.

Remember. Time of peace and relaxation. A sanctuary for the inner child. The child that wanted to grow up to be a cowboy or a space marine, rather than paying taxes ,changing diapers or making dates with the florist. It is your hobby. Cherish it, no matter how much or little time and money you can pour into it this very moment.